Army hunts down top Al-Badr commander, hot on the heels of Zakir Musa, Riyaz Naikoo

A list of top terror commanders was issued by intelligence agencies in June 2018, following which an operation called “All Out” was launched to neutralize them. Since then the security forces managed to gun down several terror organization operatives, except Zakir Musa and Riyaz Naikoo. But the hunt is on for the terrorist duo.

Srinagar: With the killing of Al-Badr commander Zeenat-ul-Islam on Saturday in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army scored a major win over terrorists in the Valley. This is the latest in the list of top terrorists who have been neutralised in the past two years.

A list of top terror commanders was issued by intelligence agencies in June 2018, following which an operation called “All Out” was launched to neutralise them.

Since then the security forces managed to gun down several terror organization operatives, except Zakir Musa and Riyaz Naikoo. But the hunt is on for the terrorist duo.

Here is a list of the top 10 commanders killed in a span of 20 months in the Valley.

1. Junaid Mattoo alias Kandroo: He was gunned down by the security forces during the Arwani encounter in Bijbehara area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district on 16 June, 2017. Junaid who joined terror ranks at the age of 18 and was functioning as the district commander for Kulgam when he was killed.

2. Bashir Ahmed Wani alias Lashkari: Within 15 days after Mattoo was neutralised, Bashir Ahmed Wani was killed by the security forces. He was killed on July 1, 2017, in an encounter in the Breenti area of Anantnag district, days after he carried out a deadly attack on the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which claimed five lives.

3. Waseem Ahmed Shah alias Osama: Waseem was killed in an encounter in the Litter area of Pulwama district on October 13, 2017. Waseem, who was a college dropout, was behind the violence that erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after the killing of Burhan Wani in 2016. He had a bounty of Rs10 lakh on his head.

4. Abu Dujana alias Hafiz: Abu, who was called the “cordon breaker” by terror sympathisers, was killed in an encounter in Hakripora area of Pulwama district on August 1, 2017. The Pakistani man was the face of Lashkar-e-Taiba in South Kashmir after the killing of Abu Qasim in 2015.

5. Abu Hamas: Pakistani terrorists Abu Hamas, an A++ rated terrorists, was killed in an encounter on March 17, 2018 in Khanmoh. This Jaish-e-Mohammad commander joined hands with Zakir Musa’s Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind soon after the latter’s split from Hizbul Mujahideen.

6. Saddam Padder alias Zaid: Saddam who joined terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen in the year 2013 was a close associate of Burhan Wani. He was gunned down in an encounter in Badigam area of Shopian district on May 6, 2018.

7. Showkat Ahmed Tak alias Huzaifa: The Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists Showkat was one of the “deadliest” terrorists for the security forces to neutralise. He was gunned down in an encounter in Chattabal area of Srinagar on May 5, 2018.

8. Mohammed Yasin Itoo: A++ rated Hzibul terrorists Mohammed was killed in an encounter at Awneera area in Shopian District on August 14, 2017. He joined the terror ranks in the year 1996 and was functioning as the divisional commander after Wani’s death.

9. Altaf Ahmed Kaczroo: Altaf, who was one of the oldest operatives of Hizbul Mujahideen in the Kashmir valley, was killed in an encounter in Anantnag district on August 29, 2018. He had a bounty of Rs 12.5 lakhs on his head.

10. Zeenat-ul-Islam: Top commander of terror outfit Al-Badr and an improvised explosive device (IED) expert Zeenat was gunned down by the security forces on January 12, 2019 in the Kulgam encounter. He was one of the elusive terrorist in the Valley, who managed to escape the Army several times.